Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

NOTEBOOK “ο”

(“OMICRON”)

VOLKSSTIMME(CHEMNITZ)

“AGAINST BOTH JUNIUSES”

Volksstimme(Chemnitz), Supplement to No. 131 (June 8, 1916).

A short article: “Against Both Juniuses.”

“Political arguments will, of course, carry no weight with those who judge only by the enormous sacrifices and suffering of this war and speak only in embitterment and desperation. For one, however, who does not want to hit out blindly, but to analyse and judge, the situation is already quite clear. Our readers will know from our reports of the Junius pamphlet, which seeks to persuade the German proletariat that its greatest interest lies in Germany’s defeat, to which end the working class must exert all its efforts. It is no accident that the anonymous author of the pan-German pamphlet attacking the Reichs-Chancellor a pamphlet emanating from the Tirpitz opposition and annexationist and blood-thirsty to a degree of madness, signs himselfJunius Alter, the second Junius. Both Juniuses, one propagating Germany’s defeat and the other Germany’s world domination, actually play into each other’s hands. And, reading the pamphlet of the first Junius, we have repeatedly asked ourselves whether it was really written by a Social-Democrat who has lost all judgement, or whether it is the work of a Russian police agent! The German working class will send both Juniuses packing. It will continue to fight the external enemies until they are ready for a reasonable peace, and the internal enemies who want to sacrifice precious German blood for the sake of lunatic plans of conquest. Such is the policy of Social-Democracy, and the history of the working-class movement will thank the leaders who in these days are so vigorously championing this policy in the Reichstag in defiance of all attacks and slanders.”

“QUITE CORRECT!”

“’The ChemnitzVolksstimmeseems to be concerned for the cessation of Party strife. However, it is probably speculating on the prospects this will present for unity between social-patriots, social-imperialists and social-pacifists, thanks to the behaviour of even the extreme Left wing of the Party Centre. The Chemnitz Party organ is probably not far off the mark. But as regards the radical Left, the paper’s hopes for a re-union with the social-patriots are, of course, in vain.

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